Monday, June 22, 2009

Apple iPhone 3G S, Palm Pre and Samsung Jet--these are the latest mobile phones that everyone is looking at now and are top of the list for tech geeks especially.

Let's guess. Do you think those three mobile phones will be available in Korea?

Unfortunately, the answer is no! None of the trio are available in Korea, nor will they be. Apple iPhone has a long history regarding the Korean market. I also discussed those issues several times in my previous posts as well. Now, Apple doesn't have any government or mobile phone hardware specification issues that hold its back from entering the Korean market. Its first-generation iPhone had GSM support and Wi-Fi; its second generation was Wi-Fi; and the third generation, I have to say, local carriers.

The Apple iPhone 3G S will be available in 76 countries through 29 carriers. We all know that Apple tends to ask for something different in the sales schemes of carriers and it may difficult for those carriers to accept the terms. However, that's not an issue anymore. But this still doesn't change the situation in Korea.

We have three local mobile carriers: SK telecom, Korea Telecom and LG telecom. SKT has more than a 50 percent share of the market, followed by KT. LGT isn't servicing WCDMA, so it is not in the race to bring the iPhone into Korea.

KT is the carrier eager to bring in the Apple iPhone to beef up its mobile roadmap to compete with market leader SKT. But it's been a few years already and we are getting tired of what they are doing, as well as the media always spitting out news to the tune of "deal nearly completed, iPhone to be released in Korea next month or sooner, source from KT employee". This annoying teaser keeps rolling around every time Apple announces new iPhones. It was the same situation when the iPhone 3G S was announced even though the Cupertino company never mentioned Korea in its keynote.

What about the Samsung Jet? It is Samsung's latest mobile phone announced at CommunicAsia in Singapore a week ago as a feature phone that's smarter than a smartphone. This is a mobile that has similar or better features and performances. Some of you should know that Korea's smartphone market only just kicked off after Samsung's T-Omnia debuted last year. However, the market is still very limited compared with feature phones.

What about the Samsung Jet? It is Samsung's latest mobile phone announced at CommunicAsia in Singapore a week ago as a feature phone that's smarter than a smartphone. This is a mobile that has similar or better features and performances. Some of you should know that Korea's smartphone market only just kicked off after Samsung's T-Omnia debuted last year. However, the market is still very limited compared with feature phones.

However, I read news that Samsung is planning not to release the Jet into its own homeland. Why? Because the Samsung Jet is targeting the GSM markets, not WCDMA ones like in Korea. Samsung will launch another model which may have similar specs as the Jet but with a bigger LCD such as a 3.5-inch AMOLED. And those enhanced features such as Dolfin, Wi-Fi and DivX player will be removed as well.

This wasn't Samsung's decision apparently. Local carriers have requested for the company to to remove those features from the Jet. That is because the Jet will be positioned between the smartphone and feature phone, but with all the best features from both categories.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

When you select the iTunes Store, you're taken to the App Store main menu, which somewhat resembles the mobile iTunes store in design. You search applications by name and category and you can browse through the lists of Featured applications or the Top 25. There also is a feature for seeing if your purchased applications have any updates.

We purchased a few apps for the iPhone. Downloads over Wi-Fi were pretty quick; most apps took just a few seconds, but keep in mind it will vary by the size of the app. Though you can purchase iTunes songs wirelessly only through a Wi-Fi connection, you can download applications of 10Mb or less over a 3G network and even over EDGE (if 3G isn't available).

Downloads over 3G took about the same time as they did over Wi-Fi, give or take a few seconds, but apps over EDGE are quite pokey. We also purchased applications through the online iTunes (7.7) store. We downloaded Super Monkey Ball and then synced it to our phone--a new applications tab appears under the iPhone menu. The process was quick and painless. What's more, navigation through the online apps store is easy. After loading apps, the icons will appear on the Home screen.

What's most remarkable about the online applications store is the sheer breadth of titles available, many of which take full advantage of the accelerometer. As of this writing, there are 27 pages available in a extensive range of categories. If there is one thing about the iPhone that's to love, it's the App Store--even if not all the applications are keepers and Apple is maintaining strict control over who gets in. Sure, Apple is not the first company to build a phone that takes third-party applications, but like the iPhone itself, the App Store is unique not for what it does, but for how it does it. The process is so easy that we can't imagine having the same experience on a Windows Mobile device. Of course, before you get carried away, remember that some apps are free but others will cost you.